Final Bow
by Duvessa
Summary: Set 2 1/2 years after "Grave." Spike's got a soul. Buffy's got an attitude. Can these crazy kids make it work? Or will Spike finally get sick of the way Buffy treats him?


"Loose Ends." Part one of the "Final Bow" series. Rating: R. (For the series as a whole. This part is more PG-13). Spoilers: Everything through Season 6. Series Summary: Set 2 1/2 years after "Grave". Spike's got a soul. Buffy's got an attitude. Will these crazy kids make it work? Or will Buffy's harsh treatment finally drive Spike away? Disclaimer: If you think these are mine you are clearly mistaken. They all belong, sadly, to Mr. Whedon and the people at ME. Feedback: It's like candy with out all the wrappers. (ladyduvessa19@icqmail.com)  
  
Special thanks to PJ for being a wonderful beta. For fixing everything that was wrong with what I 'said'.  
  
She was getting a headache. The Slayer isn't supposed to get headaches. She fought vampires and demons, came home with scratches and bruises sure, but not headaches! Tonight everything seemed different. There were so many bodies packed into this tight little space. She couldn't remember ever seeing it this bad.  
  
She wove around carefully trying not to trip. She couldn't falter now. She was so close. Lights were flashing: bright red and blue. Fading in and out. Spinning around. Sirens blared. Sirens she was so tired of hearing. Caution tape was hung everywhere. And then there was the talking. It wasn't even talking really. Shouting. Everyone trying to be heard.  
  
She held on tight to the burdens in her hands. Clutching them to her chest and continued on her journey.  
  
"Hey Buff. Over here," she heard Xander say then turned in the direction of his voice.  
  
"You moved," Puzzled, Buffy joined him where he sat with Willow.  
  
"Yeah well, this table became free and it actually came with a full set of chairs," Xander explained and then corrected, "Well not really a full set because that would be four, but hey three of us. Three chairs. I think I managed to do the math."  
  
"Very impressive," Buffy noted setting the drinks she carried on the table. "Cherry Coke for you." She placed a glass in front of Willow. "Beer."  
  
"That'd be mine," Xander said taking the bottle from her hand.  
  
"That leaves water for me." Buffy took a quick sip and looked around. "Wow. I can't believe I made it past all of those people without dropping these. Go me." Then she noticed wetness on her neck and down her shirt. "Although I think when that guy in the pink shirt elbowed me your Cherry Coke dripped down my shirt. I'm all sticky."  
  
"Sticky is good."  
  
"Xander!" Willow scolded hitting him. "Here." She offered Buffy a napkin.  
  
"Thanks." Buffy took the napkin and cleaned herself up. She couldn't think of anything else to say. Although she had known Willow and Xander for what seemed like forever, sometimes it was hard to talk to them. She knew they would always be there for each other. Yet, they still had moments when they didn't really want, or have, anything to talk about. Tonight was one of those nights for Buffy.  
  
"So." She started tapping her fingers on the table.  
  
"So. the uh Bronze sure is happening," Willow attempted to end the awkward silence that had developed.  
  
"Yeah. Real cool with the whole police lights, sirens, and caution tape thing they have going on. There's nothing better to prepare delinquent teens for a life full of arrests than Cop Nights at the Bronze," Xander said sarcastically before taking a swig of his beer.  
  
"Everyone seems to be enjoying it. Look at them." Buffy motioned to the happy people on the dance floor while she and her friends sat perfectly still at their table.  
  
"Maybe we're just getting too mature for this place," Willow suggested.  
  
"Too mature. I wish to vote no. My goal in life is to never become mature," Xander stated.  
  
"This from the only one of us who has a steady job," Buffy pointed out getting half a frown from Xander.  
  
"Don't rub it in. You think I want this? No sir. I much envy the man who can sit at home and watch cartoons all day."  
  
"Cartoons?" Willow asked with a giggle.  
  
"What? They can be very educational," explained Xander. "I've learned that no matter what the kit says, putting bird seed in the middle of the road will never get rid of that pesky Road Runner."  
  
"Okay," Buffy began as if to change the subject. "So what about you Wil? How's the whole after graduation job hunt going?"  
  
"It's kinda not. I've to come to realize that I spent all that time in school and they gave me a degree, but it's not really in anything," Willow said running her finger along the rim of her half full glass.  
  
"Huh?" Buffy didn't understand. College degrees were supposed to lead to jobs.  
  
"Well it's not like I was a psych major or pre-med or anything. I just kind of took classes, but Giles said with ah. you know.." Willow paused and Xander took that opportunity to speak up.  
  
"It's okay, Wil. You can say it. Anya's been gone for over a year. You don't have to be cautious of my feelings."  
  
"I was talking about the mass destruction that happened at the magic shop last week. And with Giles being all 'I can't pick which continent to live on', there's a lot to do there," Willow explained.  
  
"Giles decided to live here and in England. He'll be around a lot," Buffy said still in the delusion that he would be in Sunnydale more often than not. "And do you really think that's the best idea? I mean working in a magic shop?"  
  
"I haven't done any magic since." Willow trailed off looking away.  
  
"I trust you Willow. If you think you can handle it then I say go for it." Buffy gave her friend a supportive look.  
  
"What about you Buff? I've got the carpenter gig. Looks like Willow's got the Magic Box. What's in your foreseeable future? Anything in the money making variety?" Xander asked.  
  
"As of now, No," Buffy said a little upset. She still hadn't figured it out. Xander had a career. Willow had a plan. And what did she have? Nothing. She didn't even have a pencil and paper to write down a plan!  
  
"I thought you were going to try and get a job at that gas station on 42nd?" Willow brought up.  
  
"Yeah well, they were only hiring for the night shift. And you know crazy me, gotta have my nights free for all the undead bonfires I get invited to."  
  
"Yeah, those bonfires are kind of important," Willow agreed.  
  
"Am I the only one who doesn't get the whole bonfire thing? 'Cause I thought she needed nights free to kill vampires." At that, both girls rolled their eyes and gave him a look that told him he was hopeless.  
  
"I was thinking maybe the Espresso Pump. They had a sign. And it couldn't be any worse than the Double Meat Palace. Or the job I had after that," Buffy muttered.  
  
"Hey, if you worked at the Espresso Pump, would that mean free permanent caffeine buzz for the whole gang?" Xander asked, but received no answer.  
  
"You're right Buffy. It wouldn't be as bad as the old DMP. And the job you had after that--" Willow began.  
  
Buffy interrupted. "Don't even talk about it. It was a mistake from day one."  
  
"You've been sent a drink," said a girl wearing a Bronze t-shirt and apron.  
  
"Who?" Willow asked, as the waitress hadn't seemed to be talking to anyone in particular.  
  
She didn't bother answering. She just set the reddish drink in front of Buffy.  
  
"Who sent it?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Some guy," the waitress answered.  
  
"What guy? Where? Is he here? " Buffy questioned scanning the room. "What did he look like?" She didn't know anyone who would send her a drink. And if it was some secret admirer. well, she didn't want it to be. Her luck with men had run out long ago.  
  
"I didn't take the order. I was just told the drink was for you," explained the waitress before she left.  
  
"Free drink. Someone must be crushing on the Buffster," Xander observed.  
  
"I wonder who it is," Willow said and then got excited. Her eyes became wide and her tone giddy. "I know. It's that guy from the other night."  
  
"What guy?" Buffy asked.  
  
"You know. The one who didn't stop staring at you from the time you walked in till the time you left," Xander said sounding a bit annoyed.  
  
"There was a guy?" Buffy asked completely clueless.  
  
"You didn't notice?" Willow said shocked.  
  
"There was some weirdo staring at me?" Buffy said once again scanning the room for whomever might have sent the drink.  
  
"He wasn't just staring. He was undressing you with his eyes. The guy's a perv." Xander tried to make the guy look bad. He knew he didn't have a chance with Buffy, and to some extent he had gotten over his little crush, but that didn't mean he would help some guy mack on her.  
  
"Xander!" Willow said giving him an evil eye. "He was not some weirdo. And he was not undressing you with his eyes." The look she got from Xander made her realize that wasn't true. "Okay, maybe there was a little undressing going on, but he's a guy. What do you expect?"  
  
"For my gender I say 'Hey!'."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at Xander. "Whatever. I don't think now is the time for me to be looking for a new man."  
  
"It's the perfect time. There's a guy who likes you. Vampire activity is at an all time low. We took care of the monster that tore apart the Magic Box. That leaves you free to date." Willow reasoned.  
  
"My relationships tend to end up kind of sour. You know this," Buffy said.  
  
"Oh come on, they haven't been that bad," Xander responded.  
  
"Not that bad? Let's have a recap of the men I've had a relationship with since I came to Sunnydale." Buffy began counting them off on her fingers. "Angel. All poor vampire with a soul. We get too close, he tries to kill us. Parker. Actually we didn't really date; he just used me and then ditched me. Riley. In theory, it could have worked, but I never loved him. Besides: married now. Spike. Swore he loved me more than all of them put together. Comforted me when I was brought back. Never tried to make me someone that I wasn't. Would die a thousand times to save me or my little sister." Her voice had become sincere and then it changed, became harsh and rigid, "Tried to rape me. Not to mention all of the things that happened when he came back from Africa. And everything since. Yeah my relationships're not that bad."  
  
"What about--" Willow began.  
  
"Him and the job kinda go hand-in-hand with the 'never talk about'. Ever," Buffy said. "At least you guys haven't had such bad luck."  
  
"Oh yeah. No bad luck here," Xander chimed in. "Must I remind you of my demon magnet status. And the two actual relationships I managed to have: both over. I cheated on Cordelia. And Anya, I left her at the altar."  
  
"And she forgave you," Buffy pointed out.  
  
"For like half a second. She's gone now. The one woman that I honestly loved. Gone." Xander looked away from his friends.  
  
"She's not gone. She's just not here. Tara is gone. She can never come back," Willow's tone had become saddened. It was still hard for her to have conversations about relationships.  
  
"Maybe this wasn't the best choice in topic," Buffy acknowledged the hurt in her best friend's voice. "Crazy weather we're having. Warm and sunny in Sunnydale."  
  
"Yeah crazy," Xander agreed knowing Buffy was changing the subject for Willows sake. He felt sorry for saying he had bad luck with relationships. Granted both of his had ended horribly, but at least it was his fault they ended. Tara dying was out of Willow's control.  
  
"That got alcohol in it?" Willow asked eying the drink Buffy had been brought.  
  
Buffy stuck her finger in the red slush of a drink in front of her, and then withdrew it placing it in her mouth. *Good thing table manners are of the unimportance at the Bronze*, she thought before replying. "Yeah I think so."  
  
With that Willow grabbed the drink. She never drank, but assumed there wasn't much alcohol in a mixed drink like this.  
  
*I'll just have to get shots after this*, she thought as the fruity tasting beverage coated her throat. Of course, she didn't know what kind of shots, but they would all basically have the same effect, right? She just wanted to forget for one night.  
  
It had been a long time since the night her love was taken from her, but it still hurt. Willow didn't know if she would ever get over the pain. Part of her didn't want to. She was happy with Tara. Her friends were great, but they had their own lives. Tara was hers, and she was Tara's. She would never find a love like that again.  
  
"Whoa. Willow. You really think alcohol is gonna help?" Xander asked realizing that she was drinking because it hurt to talk about Tara.  
  
"No, it won't help. But I've tried everything else. Tara's been gone for how long now?" Willow demanded. No one answered. "I still can't have a conversation about her without becoming upset. I just want to forget for a minute."  
  
"But getting drunk? Really not the best plan." Xander needed backup. "Right Buffy?"  
  
Buffy was pulled back to reality by the sound of her name.  
  
She had been watching a couple on the dance floor. The man looked odd to her. He was dressed in all black. Which really wasn't what bothered her. His eyes seemed to look through things. The girl he was with was blonde. Typical ditzy blonde. Much like Harmony from the looks of her. She wore a bright red top that was cut so low that if she moved even the slightest bit in the wrong direction she was going to be giving everyone a free show. As they danced, the man whispered something in her ear. She nodded and they headed for the door. *That's what wearing a come bite me outfit will get you. Bit.* Buffy thought. "Sorry guys. Duty calls," she excused herself as she got up to follow the couple outside.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sure enough, when she went out the back door of the Bronze and around the corner the man was hovered over the blonde. His face buried in her neck.  
  
"Don't really think that's such a good idea." Buffy declared taking her typical slayer stance. Arms crossed in front of her. One hand close enough to the pocket of her jacket to swiftly grab the stake that it harbored.  
  
"I think you got it wrong, sweetheart," the vampire said turning to face her. His eyes were still empty. Even with his demon face. Everything about him was cold. Just like every other vampire.  
  
"If you say so," Buffy moved towards him. When she was close enough, she grabbed his arm and pulled him off the girl.  
  
As her fist hit his face the vampire muttered, "What the hell?"  
  
Buffy hit him again, this time in the stomach. She managed to yell a quick "Run!" to the would-be victim before kicking his feet out from under him.  
  
The vampire wasn't putting up much of a fight, but then again Buffy didn't really give him a chance. He had fallen face first. Buffy quickly turned him on his back then punctured his heart with the wood she held in her hand. As he disintegrated, she heard him say, "You never said anything about a slayer."  
  
She didn't know what he had meant by his dying comment, but chose not to care. She was proud of having saved someone. Even if she was just some brainless twit, she thought as she brushed off the dust that was once her opponent.  
  
She was about to go back and rejoin her friends when she heard clapping followed by a "Bravo."  
  
The second she heard the voice she was annoyed. Nothing good ever came from that mouth. Nothing.  
  
She turned to face him. "What are you doing here? Are you spying on me?"  
  
"We need to talk, Buffy," Spike said striding up to her.  
  
He looked good. He always did. And he had a way of moving his lips just so and gazing at her with his eyes that always used to. who was she kidding, probably always would make her want him. But he didn't need to know that. He was already too damn cocky.  
  
"We have nothing to talk about," she said pretending to be uninterested although part of her wanted to know what he was going to say.  
  
"We always have something to talk about, luv." He walked around her studying her image.  
  
She followed him. Never letting his face out of her sight. *Because I don't trust him*, she reasoned with herself.  
  
"I don't have time for this." She turned away. As she started to leave, he grabbed her arm.  
  
"No you don't. I didn't pay that vamp $100 to lure you out here just for you to walk away from me," he said.  
  
Buffy was disgusted. She shook off his hand and stared him down once again. "You paid him to kill that girl? What part of your warped little brain told you that was a good idea?"  
  
Spike knew she would think the worst of him. "I didn't hire him to kill her. I knew he wouldn't get that far," he explained. "He's newly risen. You were right inside."  
  
"Oh that makes it better," she said sarcastically. "What if I hadn't seen them? Would you have just let him drain her?"  
  
"It didn't come to that now did it? No use worrying over what could have happened. Is there?" Spike said harshly. His jaw was clenched. She could twist everything he did to make him look bad.  
  
"Look I'm going back in there to be with my friends," she emphasized the fact that he wasn't one of said friends.  
  
"I went to all this trouble. The least you could do is talk to me," he pleaded.  
  
Buffy began to yell. "I'm sure it was a lot of trouble. Finding some sucker vampire, dishing out $100 that you could have spent on smokes or booze. Oh wait. I forgot. You steal those. Did you have to pick the dumb girl too? "  
  
"Hey! He found the girl," he assured her.  
  
"Whatever. People don't do that. People don't need bait to have a conversation with someone," Buffy lectured.  
  
"No, but I'm not exactly 'people'. And I've tried everything else. You haven't let me near you. Haven't said more than 'get out of my face' to me since--"  
  
Buffy interrupted, "Really don't need a trip down Spike and Buffy's dysfunctional relationship memory lane. I don't want to have anything to do with you. No amount of talking to me is going to change that," Buffy said and walked away.  
  
"How was your drink?" he yelled at her back. Either she didn't hear or chose to ignore him because she didn't turn around.  
  
He just stood there and watched her walk away. Wishing he could take it all back and start over with her. That he could have a chance to be her man.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
As she walked away she could feel his gaze upon her. It was a feeling she had almost forgotten when he was away. No one else had ever looked at her the way he did. It still upset her that he had left. Even though she should be over it by now. Actually, it should never have upset her in the first place. She didn't care about him. He was just a demon. When he left, however, she realized she had taken him for granted when he was around. It was too bad she hadn't come to that conclusion before the night she took Dawn to his crypt only to find him gone and Clem house-sitting.  
  
She had just recently learned that he had been in Africa, and that little bit of information she stumbled on purely by accident. He had told her nothing. She didn't even know how long he had been away from Sunnydale. All she knew is that a year and a half went by before he even attempted to talk to her.  
  
She knew that he had been in Sunnydale longer than that because she had seen him on several occasions. The first of which had happened 4 months after the night she learned he had left.  
  
She hadn't expected to see him that night. She had changed her patrol route so that she would pass by his crypt more than she normally would have. *Because there are a lot of vampires in that area.* She reasoned with herself, despite the fact that she rarely found one. She didn't dare open the door to his home because if Clem was still staying there she would have to explain. But all the nights spent lurking around his place proved to be in vain. Never once did she spot him.  
  
She had been out with Xander and Anya, who had both gotten over the wedding fiasco, or so she thought at the time. They had spent the day shopping. Trying to find something for Willow, who was with Giles in England, to show their support. She was getting her life back together. Learning that life didn't have to revolve around magic. She was even taking classes at a university over there.  
  
They had looked in every store and still found nothing for their friend. Buffy, however, carried three shopping bags filled with clothes.  
  
They stopped to have dinner at a small Italian restaurant, which was directly between one of the stores Buffy had spent a good chunk of her money at and a store that was boarded up. Their entire dinner conversation consisted of arguing about what store had once been in the now closed space and the occasional comment from Anya about sex or money.  
  
By the time they had finished dinner it was dark outside. Buffy was a little upset that they had failed to find something for Willow, but they all agreed to call it a night. Xander's new car (well not really new, it was used) was parked three blocks away, so they walked. As they waited for a car to drive past so that they could cross the street Buffy looked behind her. It was something she always did. As the Slayer, she needed to be cautious of what enemies were around. That's when she saw the bleach blonde walking in the other direction. She wondered if he had seen her. If he had been walking away just to avoid her.  
  
She wanted to scream his name, make him turn around, but she couldn't let Xander know he was near by. Between what had happened with Spike and Anya and the incident in her bathroom she knew Xander would be out for blood. So instead of screaming his name she crossed the street with her friends. They had only gone about two stores down when Buffy turned around again to see if he was still there. He was just turning the corner. He looked different. He still walked the same. Strong and confident, but there was something missing. And then she realized it was his coat. He always looked somewhat naked without his leather. But he didn't have it. It was hidden in the back of her closet. She didn't want anyone to know that she kept it. Occasionally she would take it out and put it on. There was something about that coat that made her feel safe. She figured it would only be a matter of time before he missed it and would come to claim it, but he didn't.  
  
She patrolled more heavily around his crypt after that night. Part of her wanted to make sure he was all right, while the other part wanted to tell him how wrong he had been for what he had done to her. She didn't get the chance. Every time she saw him after that he was headed in the other direction. Twice she had tried to catch up to him and failed. He must have known she was following him.  
  
She had begun to think that seeing him was a figment of her imagination until nine months ago. That was the night he spoke to her. She had no idea how much she missed his voice and his crude annoying banter until he spoke to her. It had seemed like things were the same between them. Like they would go back to the way they were. Whatever that was. Then he told her she wasn't worth his time. That he had gotten on with his life and she should do the same. They both said a lot of things she'd just as soon forget. That was the night she vowed never to speak to, care about, or protect him again.  
  
They kept their distance after that. He didn't avoid her every time he saw her, but she also didn't look. *It's better this way.* She told herself time and time again. She'd done exactly what he said. She moved on. Started dating again. She had quit the job at the Double Meat Palace and met her new boyfriend at her new job. She was completely out with the old, in with the new.  
  
The boyfriend only lasted a month and the job not much longer. That's when Spike started to apologize for the things he had said to her. He kept asking for another chance. Telling her he still loved her. That he had tried not to, but failed. It wasn't something she wanted or needed. She decided to live her life for herself. And for the past two months Spike followed her around. Saying he was sorry. That she didn't understand. That he wanted another chance. She couldn't give him that so she walked away.  
  
And that was what she was doing tonight. She finally entered the door at the back of the Bronze and could feel his eyes on her no more. She went to her friends and told them she had a post slayage headache and was going home. Xander tried to convince her to stay, but she left anyways. She got home, took a nice long shower, and curled up in bed. Sleep never came. She lay awake wondering if she was doing the right thing.  
  
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At 9:00 am, Buffy remembered she was supposed to meet her friends. She kicked off the covers and sat up. She hadn't been home a lot in the past couple of weeks and it showed. Her room was a mess. The chest Xander had made her for her birthday, which she had recently moved to her room, was just about empty. Half of its contents were at the Magic Box, while the other half were, she hoped, hiding somewhere under her piles of clothes. As she took in the state of her room she shook her head. *I don't have time to worry about this.* she thought and got out of her bed.  
  
She lifted her feet carefully as she made her way across the room. As she opened the closet door she wondered if there was going to be anything for her to find. To her surprise, the outfit she wanted to wear was hung neatly on a hanger. She grabbed the hanger and threw it on the bed while she removed the clothes she had slept in. As she was pulling the hoodie sweatshirt over her head she wondered why she had hung a sweatshirt and sweatpants on a hanger. They would have been fine in a drawer. She decided it didn't matter.  
  
The house was quiet. Willow hadn't lived there for about a month and Dawn was hardly ever home. She had made the cheerleading squad and was on the student council or something like that. Today was Saturday, however, and as far as she knew there was no cheerleading practice. Buffy was sure Dawn had known about meeting the gang at the Magic Box and whenever Dawn wasn't busy she would try to include herself in all of the Scooby meetings.  
  
As she entered the kitchen there was still no sign of her sister. "Dawn." She yelled wandering to another room. "Hey Dawnie ya here?"  
  
No answer. She went back to the kitchen. Their new system had been to place a note on the refrigerator if they were going to be gone. Sure enough Dawn had written one.  
  
*I went to Janice's house. We're thinking about trying out for the dance line so we figured we better practice. I hope you don't mind. I made pancakes for breakfast. There's some leftover ones in the Tupperware on the top shelf. By the way, we're out of eggs, vanilla, and the only syrup we have left is that real maple stuff that Aunt Marge sent. Hope everything goes well today. ~Dawn P.S. I won't be home till late.*  
  
So now she was trying out for the dance line. *Thank god she learned how to drive. I couldn't depend on Xander to take her everywhere.* Buffy thought as she opened the refrigerator door. She found the pancakes, but decided since they only had the syrup from Aunt Marge, she didn't want them. She would have to go to the grocery store later.  
  
She pushed aside the milk and grabbed a bottle of water. Then she went to the cupboard and grabbed a granola bar and headed out the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was bright and sunny. Not the time of day that he wanted to be caught outside, so Spike sat inside on the bed. His new place was starting to become a home. When he had come back from Africa he realized that he couldn't go back to his old place. She would find him there. So he gave the place to Clem. His new crypt was in a different cemetery. One that Buffy patrolled in quite often. She, however, didn't know he was there. He would watch her fight, watch her win, just about every night.  
  
He still hated himself for what he had done to her, but he wanted desperately to make it up to her. When he first came back to Sunnydale he didn't think he was worthy enough to try and apologize to her. She would be better without him. That feeling lasted a long time: the feeling that he was scum. That no matter what he did she was always going to be above him. That she was an angel and he was the devil.  
  
He learned that she knew he was in town. She followed him a couple of times. Finally he told her that she should forget about him. That she wasn't worth his time. It had been the hardest thing for him to say, but he knew that him saying those words was the only way. She would hate him for telling her that she wasn't worth his time. And that's what he had wanted. She needed to hate him because there couldn't be a part of her that still cared about him. He was poison to her. And she didn't deserve the pain.  
  
For a long time he let her be. It was the right thing to do. Then she started dating. He had seen her out with her current choice in men and was appalled. The man knew nothing about her. It was disgusting how nonchalantly he spoke her name. How completely ambiguous he was to the fact that Buffy was a strong, independent, beautiful woman. That she had so much life in her. The man treated her like a trophy. He flaunted her to his friends. Trying to show them what he got. And when they were around he didn't even speak to her! She would just sit there and stare at the wall. Spike didn't even think the boy had told his friends Buffy's name. And she certainly didn't know any of theirs.  
  
After seeing her with that guy, Spike realized that he was good enough to be her man. He would treat her so much better. He could give her so much more. He didn't want her to be someone else. He loved her just the way she was. Finally she must have realized what a loser she had because she dumped him. That's when Spike started to apologize to her. She wouldn't hear him. She didn't want anything to do with him and he couldn't blame her.  
  
He was going to show her. Even if it took forever. He had all the time in the world. He was an immortal after all. Even if he had screwed up last night at the Bronze when he hired that vamp. Somehow he was going to find something about which she couldn't get mad at him. The thing that would make her listen to him. He was going to win her back. He had to. Without her he was nothing.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Magic Box was closed. There was duct tape on the window covering where it had been cracked and the sign over the door now read 'M ic x'. When Buffy entered she found Willow and Xander had already begun cleanup. Xander knelt on the floor holding a dustpan, while Willow swept. "Hey guys."  
  
"Buffy. Hey! We saved the best part for you," Willow pointed to a bookshelf that had fallen over.  
  
Buffy sighed. She was always left with the heavy work. "I thought you were going to do all of this Wil. You know Giles giving you a job because there is a lot to do here."  
  
"He's paying me to run the store, not to clean it up. Today I'm off the clock."  
  
Buffy pouted. "All right. I'll help." She went to the fallen bookcase and attempted to lift it. It must have done more than just tip over because it broke in half before she got it upright.  
  
Xander glanced over at the broken piece of furniture. "Guess I get to build a new one."  
  
Willow stopped sweeping and Xander got up off the floor. They all just looked at the mess that still needed to be cleaned up. It wasn't going to be easy. No one had ever seen a Vilacro demon before the night it tore the shop apart and none of them wanted to see one again. It had hooves for feet and weird claw shaped hands. Not claws on his hands; claw shaped hands. Its face had looked somewhat like a pig, but at the same time like a cat. Luckily it had only been about 5 feet tall.  
  
"So did we ever find out what the ugly pig/cat wanted?" Buffy asked. She had been in charge of the slayage, as usual, but this time she didn't even know why she had been slaying (aside from the fact that the demon had been throwing things at her and smashing everything in sight).  
  
"Nope," Willow replied. "There was a reference to the Vilacro demons in the Argonian Samhe texts, but all it really said was that they were demons of destruction."  
  
"Kinda figured that one out," Xander stated.  
  
"So there could be more of them?" questioned Buffy.  
  
"I suppose so," Willow admitted. "It said somewhere that they like to fight in packs. And that a lone Vilacro demon had somehow threatened, or embarrassed his family. My guess is that he was one of these. An outcast. But he could have just been like a decoy or something. Maybe they're the type of demons who would sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the group."  
  
Buffy was confused. "So I should watch out for more of them or I shouldn't?"  
  
"I think we should all be on the lookout. It has been over a week so my guess is that they're gone, but we never knew what that one wanted," cautioned Willow. "Are you sure he didn't say anything when you were fighting him?"  
  
Buffy tried to remember. "I don't think so. He said the usual 'it's your turn to die, Slayer', but after I stabbed him the first time he shut up."  
  
"What about his body?"  
  
"His what?" Buffy asked.  
  
"His body," Willow repeated. "What did you do with it? I could take a look at it. See if he had any distinctive markings."  
  
"I didn't do anything with it." Buffy was completely appalled at disposing of the bodies. Even if she had been the one to kill it. She wasn't going to be the one to get rid of it. "I thought you guys took care of that."  
  
Willow looked at Xander.  
  
"I didn't touch it."  
  
"Well then, what happened to it?" Willow asked.  
  
"Maybe it disintegrated," Buffy offered as an explanation. "Some demons do do that."  
  
"True, but we were here for over an hour after it died and it hadn't gone 'poof' yet. Chances are it wouldn't," Willow reasoned.  
  
"So we think, what? Someone stole the body?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yuck!"  
  
Willow ignored Buffy's grossed out opinion and answered Xander. "I don't know what we think."  
  
"I think we should find something a little less hellmouthy to talk about," suggested Buffy.  
  
"Do we have anything non-hellmouthy to talk about?" pondered Xander.  
  
Buffy thought for a moment. "We could talk about movies."  
  
"I haven't seen any recently," Willow said.  
  
"Me neither. Face it Buff: our lives revolve around evil."  
  
"Well let's at least not talk about the whole Velcro demon anymore."  
  
"Fine by me, but let's get this place cleaned up while we chit-chat," Willow ordered.  
  
Buffy couldn't argue with that. The place needed some serious work. She began picking shards of glass out of one of the display cases when Xander asked, "So what happened last night with the vampire."  
  
Not exactly the topic Buffy would pick. "He tried to kill that girl and I stopped him. End of story."  
  
"You know, we never saw that guy who sent you the drink," Willow said in hopes to get Buffy interested in guy conversation.  
  
"I did," Buffy admitted.  
  
"Really?" Willow's eyes got wide. "Was he nice? I bet he was nice. He has that whole nice boy look to him."  
  
"It was Spike."  
  
"What?!?" Xander said shocked.  
  
Willow didn't understand. "What do you mean it was Spike?"  
  
"He was there at the Bronze. He hired that vamp to lure me outside so that he could talk to me."  
  
"He did what?" Willow continued in surprise. "That's really lame even for Spike. How do you know he hired the vamp?"  
  
"He told me."  
  
"Now even I know that doesn't make any sense," Xander said. "Why would he admit to that? He knows you wouldn't be happy about it."  
  
"I don't know why. He just did." Buffy cut her finger on one of the shards of glass and brought it up so that she could look at it. It was only a scratch.  
  
"So what did you do?" Willow needed to know the whole story. "What did you say?"  
  
"I made it clear that he should leave me alone," Buffy assured her friends. "I don't need him messing up my life right now."  
  
"That's what I like to hear," encouraged Xander.  
  
"So that's it? No more Spike?" Willow questioned.  
  
"No more Spike." 


End file.
